One of the major advancements in technology in recent years has come in the form of cloud computing. Everyone is talking about cloud computing but many businesses are still unsure as to what it actually is, how it works and how it can benefit their business. Essentially, it allows you to both access and store company files and data on the internet, rather than on disks, servers and hard drives. The “cloud”, where all of your data activity occurs, is as such, the internet.

For years, businesses have operated their data storage and access using hard drives. Cloud computing however, is presenting itself as “the way forward”. There are many benefits to this new development in technology no matter what size your business is. It is as secure, if not even more secure, than your hard-drive system. Most cloud computing software comes with security protection included so that you can ensure that all data stored in the “cloud” is protected. Should a fire, flood or other major disaster ever occur in your place of business, one thing that you need not worry about is data loss. Even if every computer is destroyed by fire, your data will stay intact within the cloud.

With cloud computing, you need not have to visit the office to access files. Once you have the appropriate access credentials, you can log in and access or share files with anyone in the company, from any location in the world. For small business owners, this can be very beneficial as it can allow them to easily operate from home if necessary. They can easily check in on sales data and other details if ever they need to travel away from the business. For medium to large businesses, you can easily share data with and access data from other branches of the company, no matter where in the world they are located. Any changes made to data are done so in “real time”. This means that you can see who is logged in and accessing a particular document and watch them makes changes or work on it as it happens. If a business owner ever needed to know whether their staff were being productive while they were away, this feature, as such, could help them to evaluate this.

You can limit access for different employees in the company with cloud computing too. The access credentials of the owner might allow them to view all data stored and shared in their cloud. The accounts department may be provided access to all sales and accounts files, but be unable to access any Human Resources data. Senior employees may be granted greater access to data in camparison to junior employees, if necessary too. There are various limitations that a business owner can choose to apply.

One of the main attractions to cloud computing, for businesses of all shapes and sizes is the cost. In comparison to operating hard drive systems, cloud computing can offer a much more attractive and cost effective option of data storage. There are plans available to suit every budget, from the small business owner who needs to save a couple of excel sheets every week and share them with their accountant, to the large corporation who wants to store thousands of files and have multiple access credentials, each with varied access limitations. In a climate where operating a business is becoming increasingly difficult, the financial savings that can be obtained by implementing and operating cloud computing data storage can prove to be very attractive.

Carlo Cretaro is a freelance writer who writes on behalf of many Irish Companies such as E-MIT Solutions. He also works as a social media manager for various companies. His own travel website can be found at http://www.nextstopwhoknows.com